World
Archived — This article has been archived. The information may be outdated.
Italy suspends Schengen pact with Spain over Ceuta
DW··1 Aug
Italy suspended its Schengen free travel agreement with Spain for one month starting August 1, after an estimated 60,000 people breached the border into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco on July 30. At least 34 deaths were reported in the crossing attempt. Spain said 48,300 migrants had already returned to Morocco by Friday evening.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Travellers holding Schengen visas moving between Italy and Spain should expect targeted border checks for non-EU citizens for at least a month.
- Anyone following European migration debates sees a rare case of one Schengen member suspending free travel with another over a single incident.
- Indians travelling onward through Spain to other European countries may face added document checks amid the wider regional tightening of borders.
What's Happening
- An estimated 60,000 people breached the border fence into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco on July 30, with at least 34 deaths reported.
- Italy suspended its Schengen free travel agreement with Spain for one month starting August 1, closing maritime and air entry points to non-EU arrivals from Spain.
- Spain said 48,300 of the migrants had already returned to Morocco by Friday evening, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Ceuta and blamed people smugglers.
Schengen Checks Return Over A Border Breach
- France and Germany also announced temporary border tightening measures with Spain, while Germany extended existing internal Schengen checks first introduced in September 2024.
- Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish exclaves on Morocco's coast that have periodically seen mass border rush attempts, including a similar breach in 2021 and 2022.
- Spain's government pointed to a recent Supreme Court ruling on migrant processing as a factor smugglers used to encourage the mass crossing attempt.
all-newseditors-picks
